The video game industry is currently the most profitable entertainment industry there is, and there’s never been more of a conversation between the medium and the rest of pop culture. Video games spawn tons of original stories, but it’s also common practice for video games to adapt big movies into playable experiences.

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This process comes down to synergy and promotion, which can sometimes result in soulless and empty video game adaptations, but the reverse can also be true. Low expectations can surprisingly be a glorious thing and can help lackluster video games turn into unexpected success stories. It’s difficult to predict this science, but it’s fascinating when subpar films can somehow translate into excellent video games.

10 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Brings The Visceral & Unflinching Action That The Movie Lacks

Game X-Men Origins Wolverine Leap

The X-Men have had a healthy presence in video games for decades and they're a wonderful gateway experience to these classic characters. There are X-Men games that tell original stories as well as others that adapt films and it's quite shocking that the video game version of the maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the crown jewel of titles.

The video game doesn't shy away from the brutal nature of Wolverine’s character and in many ways it even feels more like a Logan game than an X-Men Origins title. It delivers on what the movie couldn't, and thus makes it a far superior experience. 

9 Star Wars: Episode I Racer Capitalizes On One Of The Prequel’s Strangest Elements

Game Star Wars Episode I Racer

Star Wars is another franchise that regularly engages with the video game industry and there are a number of excellent titles that adapt the cinematic adventures or attempt to explore different corners of the Star Wars universe. The Prequel Trilogy gets a lot of hate and The Phantom Menace’s lengthy pod racing detour either works for people or it doesn’t.

However, Star Wars: Episode I Racer takes this bizarre pastime and turns it into a fast-paced and creative racing game. It almost feels like pod racing is in the movie exclusively to influence a new genre of racing games, which it did as this game not only had multiple versions but also a sequel and, later, an HD remaster.

8 Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues Turns Indy’s Worst Outing Into A Fun Adventure

Game Lego Indiana Jones 2 The Adventure Continues Crystal Skull

The Lego versions of popular film franchises have turned into unexpected video game hits that are both passionate adaptations as well as comprehensive and detailed games that don’t skimp on material.

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The first Lego Indiana Jones adapts the main three movies, which leaves Lego Indiana Jones 2 with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This becomes a great opportunity to really let loose and have fun with the story and what seems hokey and disingenuous in the movie translates considerably better to a video game. It’s good enough that it might even turn some people around on the movie.

7 Alien: Resurrection Ditches The Film's Convoluted Story For Refined Shooter Mechanics

Game Alien Resurrection Xenomorph Attack

The Alien series has had its share of highs and lows when it comes to video games and it finally found the right formula with Alien: Isolation being an excellent survival horror experience all around. Decades earlier, the Alien movies became a series of first-person shooters for the PlayStation and other consoles.

Alien: Resurrection is a messy movie that bites off more than it can chew and despite the video game version going through several revisions, it refines the gameplay and formula that its predecessors utilize. The game isn't necessarily pretty, but it’s a difficult, tense take on the genre.

6 Jurassic World Evolution Allows The Player To Become The Mad Scientist

Game Jurassic World Evolution T-Rex Escape

The original Jurassic Park movies have some excellent video games and the Genesis version of Jurassic Park is still famous for allowing the player to do a playthrough as a velociraptor. The first movies are still classics, yet the modern sequel reboot, Jurassic World, has led to much more mixed opinions.

Jurassic World makes a lot of mistakes when it comes to character, but Jurassic World Evolution strips that away with a park construction simulator that also happens to feature dinosaurs. It’s an excellent idea to adapt these movies in a way that retains what works and loses the rest.

5 Cliffhanger Takes Forgettable Action Movie Fodder & Turns It Into Gameplay Gold

Game Cliffhanger Obstacles Leap

So many random movies from the 1980s and ‘90s get turned into video games that it’s easy to lose track of them all or just immediately dismiss them and make generalizations about their quality. Sylvester Stallone has rightfully earned his place as an action film icon because of how prevalent he is through the ‘80s and ‘90s, and many of his films have gotten the video game treatment (though very few, especially in the early days, were any good).

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Cliffhanger is a Renny Harlin action movie that gets lost in the shuffle between Stallone’s more memorable movies. The Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Cliffhanger adaptation is a creative and worthwhile beat-’em-up title that also just happens to look gorgeous for the time. It's the rare game that probably would've been better off without its license to drag its potential appeal down rather than the other way around.

4 Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay Properly Brings The Sci-Fi Film To Life

Riddick is escorted to the intergalactic prison.

Vin Diesel has turned into an unexpected action star and he has so many franchises in the mix that most don't realize that there are actually four movies set within the Chronicles of Riddick universe. Despite Diesel's sheer force of will, the Riddick movies don't seem to connect, but the subject matter turns out to be much better suited for a video game.

Escape from Butcher Bay pulls from better titles like Splinter Cell and even shades of Metal Gear Solid, but it elevates the exaggerated sci-fi action series to an engaging game with an enjoyable world— not to mention the original Xbox version looking lightyears ahead of almost anything else on the system in terms of visuals.

3 The Saw Games Convey The Movies’ Twisted Psychology With A More Intimate Fear

Saw Game Video Jigsaw

Love them or hate them, the Saw horror franchise has left a major mark on the genre and it’s even found its way back into the public consciousness this year with a new addition, Spiral. The Saw movies deserve credit for their ambition in terms of both twisted plotting and disturbing torture, but the second entry in the series represents some of the franchise’s sloppier impulses.

Saw and Saw II aren’t perfect, but they effectively translate the fear and anxiety of the films into the gameplay. They make for an inventive twist on the survival horror genre.

2 Quantum Of Solace Focuses On The Fundamentals & Turns Out An Excellent Shooter

Game Quantum Of Solace Daniel Craig Attack

The runaway success of Goldeneye 007 suddenly made every James Bond adventure become a viable property to adapt into a video game. These games look to both 007’s past and present. Many of these games get close to Goldeneye’s magic, but they also pull from movies that are also some of the better James Bond adventures.

Quantum of Solace is one of the Daniel Craig Bond outings, and it’s when these new movies get too convoluted. The Quantum of Solace video game trims the fat and its precise gameplay and thoughtful level design overpowers the questionable plot of the movie. It should also be mentioned that the game wasn't just an adaptation of Quantum, as it also allowed players to play through the events of Casino Royale as well in something of a two-for-one experience.

1 Predator: Hunting Grounds Finally Taps Into The Predator Experience

Game Predator Hunting Grounds Watching

Much like with the Alien films, there are a substantial number of Predator video games that expand upon the series’ mythology or pit them against Xenomorphs far before it was happening on movie screens.

Predator: Hunting Grounds is the most recent take on the franchise and it finally understands that a multiplayer open-world environment where players get pit against each other is the best way to convey the atmosphere of the movies. Curiously, the Alien series translates well to a shooter, but Predator works much better in this tactical battle royale context.

NEXT: Scott Pilgrim: 5 Ways It's A Comic Book Movie (& 5 Ways It's A Video Game Movie)